Leftover from the Holidays Read online

Leftover from the Holidays

  By Bobby A. Troutt

  Copyright 2012 Bobby A. Troutt

  Table of Contents

  In the Light of the Moon

  A Thanksgiving Mystery

  The Thanksgiving Blues

  The Christmas Parade

  Flakes the Snowman

  A Snowman’s Wish

  The Winding Wind

  Double-Yolked

  Cracked and Hard Boiled

  Scrambled Eggs

  The Cracked Egg

  *****

  Leftover from the Holidays

  In the Light of the Moon

  The legend, according to old folktales, is that at midnight on Halloween the wind blows through the cornfield and awakens the scarecrow, bringing him to life. Stories are told that, in the light of the moon, the field mice carve faces into the pumpkins lying in the cornfield. The pumpkins light the way for the scarecrow to dance. It has been said that the crows return Halloween night and sing, in the light of the moon, ‘The Scarecrow Boogie.’ The field mice join in with the scarecrow and dance; the ears of corn listen and hum in tune. This is but a tale, some would say, which has been told down through the years. No one has ever witnessed this event, or have they. Could it be real or just a story? Why don’t you find out? On Halloween night, in the light of the moon, why don’t you see for yourself.

  It was the day before Halloween and Oliver sat in his room looking out the window. I’m too old for Halloween, he thought. I’m tired of candy and trick-or-treating. I wish there was something different I could do on Halloween.

  Suddenly, Oliver heard his mother calling his name.

  “Oliver!” she yelled.

  “Yes, Mama,” he replied.

  “Will you take these boxes to the attic for me?” she asked.

  “Sure, Mama,” he replied.

  Oliver picked up the boxes and carried them to the attic. While he was there, he decided to look around and see what he could find. It had been a long time since he had been in the attic. While prowling through some boxes, he found his old baseball glove and bat. As he looked on, he found an old Halloween costume, a pirate suit, he had once worn; Oliver put it on.

  “Ar de ar ar, it is Blackbeard the pirate! If you’re not careful, I’ll make you walk the plank,” he yelled out. Ar de ar ar,” he laughed. “I wonder what this is?” he questioned as he pulled it out of the box.

  It was a book titled In the Light of the Moon. I don’t remember reading this book, he thought. I wonder what it is about. Oliver opened it and began to read about the legend of In the Light of the Moon.

  “This is silly,” laughed Oliver. “Where did this book come from? This can’t be true,” he mumbled after he finished reading the book.

  He pitched it down, shook his head in doubt and went back downstairs. The rest of the day, Oliver wondered about the legend. He wondered if the scarecrow really came to life. He still couldn’t figure out if the legend was true or only make believe.

  Finally, Halloween had come. Oliver still hadn’t decided how he was going to celebrate. He was torn between going trick-or-treating or going to the cornfield to see if the scarecrow came to life. As the day passed, Oliver wondered more and more about the legend, the scarecrow and the cornfield. By late evening, he had decided the only way he would ever know the truth was to go to the cornfield and see for himself.

  That night, Oliver helped his mother hand out Halloween candy to the trick-or-treaters. After everyone had gone to bed, Oliver slipped out of the house, jumped on his bike and headed for old Miller’s cornfield. When Oliver arrived, he hid his bike in the rows of corn and took off running through the field. When he reached the scarecrow, he stopped and looked around. He didn’t see or hear anything; everything was quiet.

  Oliver sat down in the field and waited. He looked this way and that but saw nothing unusual. He noticed the full moon in the clear night sky. All he could hear was the gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the corn.

  Oliver whispered under his breath, “Now, I will see for myself if the legend is real or make believe.”

  Ten minutes until midnight, Oliver thought as he sat quietly in the cornfield. Not a sound could be heard except the howling of the wind through the field. He peeped at his watch; it was almost midnight. As he waited patiently, everything was quiet. Shortly, he looked at his watch again.

  “Midnight,” he whispered, “still nothing. Just what I thought, it’s just a story.”

  Oliver sat silent and waited a few more minutes, still there was nothing. As he was about to leave, a mighty gust of wind ripped through the cornfield and nearly blew him away. Cautiously, Oliver peeped through the stalks of corn, once again, but saw nothing.

  “Yep, just what I thought,” he said. “I have to be crazy to believe some silly legend about a scarecrow coming to life. Look at me!” he exclaimed. “I’m out here in this cornfield in the middle of the night. I must be crazy.”

  Just as Oliver turned to walk away, he saw the scarecrow’s hand move in the light of the moon.

  “It can’t be,” he cried. “That’s impossible. It must be the wind.”

  But, the wind was still. The next time he looked at the scarecrow a little closer. Amazingly, the scarecrow’s hands began to move. As a big lump hung in Oliver’s throat, he realized the legend was true. He sat down quickly to see what would happen next.

  “Wow,” he whispered as he watched the scarecrow’s hands move.

  Slowly, the scarecrow lifted his head and carefully looked around. His eyes glowed like fire. Suddenly, the scarecrow leaped from the post and stumbled about on the ground in the light of the moon. Oliver watched in amazement as the field mice gnawed faces into the pumpkins lying in the field. The pumpkins started to come alive. Their faces were aglow with a bright yellowish light, lighting up the field around them. Oliver sat and watched in amazement. I can’t believe it, he thought. I can’t believe my eyes.

  He stayed hidden behind the stalks of corn. When he peeped out again, he saw three large crows sitting on top of a post. All of a sudden, in the light of the moon, the three crows started singing the song, ‘The Scarecrow Boogie.’ As the crows sang, the scarecrow suddenly jumped out on the cornstalk dance floor and began to dance. The field mice danced, too. In the light of the moon, the scarecrow danced, the crows sang and the ears of corn wiggled back and forth as they hummed the beat of the song. The scarecrow boogied around and around as the night wind blew through the silks of corn.

  The Scarecrow Boogie

  You stick your right arm out, your left arm too

  Then you twirl them around and around

  You do (The Scarecrow Boogie, shucks, shucks

  The Scarecrow Boogie, shucks, shucks)

  You take two steps forward and shift to the right

  You take two steps forward and shift to your left

  Then you circle around and around

  You do (The Scarecrow Boogie, shucks, shucks

  The Scarecrow Boogie, shucks, shucks)

  You back up one step and shift to the right

  You back up two steps and shift to the left

  Then you shake it all over and you jump high in the air

  You do (The Scarecrow Boogie, shucks, shucks

  The Scarecrow Boogie, shucks, shucks)

  Then Repeat

  While scarecrow boogied down, the crows sang in harmony. Things got so hot, the corn started popping.

  The crows sang out, “You do the scarecrow boogie, shucks, shucks. You do the scarecrow boogie, shucks, shucks.”

  They were all having a good time when, all of a sudden, the scarecrow stopped dead in his dance steps.
The crows and mice stopped and looked around. They didn’t make a sound. All you could hear was the howling of the wind.

  “What have we here?” asked the scarecrow as he turned and walked toward Oliver. Oliver shook with fear; he was frozen stiff and couldn’t speak. The scarecrow took him by the hand, jerked him out from behind the stalks of corn and onto the dance floor.

  “A one, two, three, go,” cried one of the crows.

  The crows started singing again and, in the light of the moon, they all danced the scarecrow boogie, shucks, shucks.

  “This is the best Halloween ever,” yelled Oliver as his feet stepped high and his legs flew left and right.

  The ears of corn screamed, “Shucks, shucks.”

  The night rocked on; Oliver didn’t want it to end. He looked at his watch to check the time. It had only been an hour but it seemed like a lifetime. Suddenly, the field was hit by another gust of wind. Oliver fell to the ground, closed his eyes and went to sleep. When Oliver awoke that morning he was at home in his bed. He vaguely remembered being in the cornfield. But, he didn’t know if it was real or if it was a dream.

  “I don’t know,” he said as he shook his head. “I’m not sure. What’s this?” he asked as he ran his hand through his hair. “Its corn silk!” he exclaimed.

  Was the legend true? Did it actually happen? he wondered. I guess I’ll never know! he thought. What about you?